CONTENTS A MESSAGE TO READERS 2 LETTERS Graphics / Illustration In the fifteen months since Craft Photography 2 EDITORIAL NeWZea/andwas purchased from the Crafts Council of New Zealand, sales Jewellery 3 SPEAKING IN STONE have doubled and advertising is up. Unfortunately, the magazine still does Ceramics Wendy Laurenson spoke to Paul Ma— son about his development as an artist, not make a profit and the sharehold— Film / \fideo designer and maker. ers capital is exhausted. The immedi— CRAFTNew Zealand 6 SELF CONTAINED ate response of the directors of Craft Textiles Print Limited is to produce this ab- Issue 45, Spring I993 An emerging talent in the Hawkes Bay Print Joumalism breviated version. We hope to com- ISSN II70-9995 is jeweller/silversmith Tanya Zoe Robin- pensate subscribers for this by pro— Public Relations son. Roxanne Fea discusses her work. ducing a larger Yearbook issue in Publisher: December. This issue will focus on Advertising Craft Print Ltd, P O Box 1110 Nelson. Ph 03 548 3018, fax 03 548 8602. venues where fine craft and visual arts Television Broadcast Editor: may be seen or purchased. Peter Gibbs. Radio Broadcast The directors and shareholders are Editorial assistant committed to maintaining a magazine Media Management Julie Warren for craft. It may take a different form; Advertising sales: it must pay its way With your patience Performing Arts Peter Gibbs, ph 03 548 3018, fax 03 548 and support we'll continue the im— 8602. provements made so far. Rock Music Judy Wilson, ph 09 5766 340, fax 09 5347 526. Peter Gibbs, Editor Layout and art direction: Peter Gibbs. Printing: Stiles Printing Ltd, Nelson. Subscriptions: Above; Tanya Zoe Robinson. p. 6. Craft NZ Subscription Service, P O Box 100 741, North Shore Mail Centre, 8 CRAFTSMAN IN PAPER Auckland 10. William Cumming is a tutor at Christch— O Ph 09 443 0238, fax 09 443 0249. urch Polytechnic. From painting, he has Trade Distribution: moved into creating images with paper. the waikato polytechnic E Network Distributors Ltd, Private Bag 102-935, North Shore Mail Centre, Auckland. Penny Orme gives the background to his Above; "Lightning Fish”, by Peter McKay. p. 10. te kuratini o waikato Contributions of original articles, reviews, news work. of events or commissions, press releases and department of design and communication photographs are welcome and will be consid- I2 TWO WORLDS ered for publication. Preferred format; 3.5" discs diploma of media arts in Macintosh or IBM compatible format plus hard Peter Deckers tells his own story of the copy, but typed or clearly handwritten copy ac- transition from Europe to New Zealand full time courses in visual arts, communications and music ceptable; prints (with negatives if possible) pre- and how it has affected his work. ferred, but transparencies also acceptable. It in doubt, first contact the editor. Copy deadline for issue 47, January 31, 1994. Copyright 1993 Craft Print Ltd. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form with- out permission of the publishers. The publishers acknowledge the support of the Queen Elizabeth ll Arts Council. CRAFTNew Zealand Above; ”Bone Cradle", by William Above; ~Treaty of Waitangi", by Peter Deckers. p. 12. Cumming. p8. SUBSCRIPTIONS IO SPEAKING IN SILVER I4 IN BRIEF Save $2 on the cover price and have A summary of forthcoming and recent Balancing the isolation of Akaroa with Craft NZ delivered free. events and exhibitions Annual subscriptions cost $32 the need for shared experiences and di— alogue is not easy forjeweller Peter McKay. 22 ITINERARY Send cheque or credit card details to: Penny Orme explains his approach. Listing of exhibitions, competitions, Craft NZ Subscription Service, conferences and other information. P O Box 100 741, Cover hoto,‘ "Stave Chair", by . __ North Shore Mail Centre, Hump rey lkin from Room Exhibit/on, Auckland 10. Dowse Art Museum, October 23 — January 23. Photo; Roy Emerson. visual arts, communications, music the waikato polytechnic - department of design and communication private bag 3036, hamilton, new zealand - telephone 0-7-834 8875 - facsimile 0-7-838 0707 EDITORIAL SPEAKING IN STONE By Peter Gibbs By Wendy Laurenson E xhibitions are vital in the development of our craft circulate a notice inviting craftspeople to submit work unless l P aul Mason speaks in stone. It’s a language that has As he pushed through new boundaries, there was a culture. They are the testing ground, where new ideas there are measurable benefits in them doing so. If recogni- taken him 20 years to learn, and the lessons have constant niggling need to earn a living. Paul survived by and developments are put before a critical audience; a tion through sales is the objective, then strategies for been in many different materials. On his way to stone, living simply in low rent houses. Even now, his work has showcase for the best work; a key interface between the gaining sales must be adopted. If critical viewpoints are Paul has worked in wood, shell, bone and metal and has two distinct parts - art and money. He was also supported maker and the public; a vehicle for publicity. They can be required, then all available publications should be canvassed been fuelled by a fascination for the spirit of life. by several arts council grants , maybe helped by the fact the pinnacle of a period of work and development. with information well before the event, explaining why this He first found the fascination in sixteenth century that several individuals involved with QEII - James Mack, While a few exhibitions are highly successful by most exhibition is worthy of critical attention. Japanese craft. Twenty years ago, Paul discovered things Peter Rule, Catherine Lomas — loved what he was doing. criteria, too many are badly conceived, badly supported and The Fletcher Challenge Ceramics Award has achieved Japanese and things Zen. He was intrigued by the restraint, “The QEII support meant my work got exposure at poorly publicised. unparalled success over a long period of time. The Nelson the subtlety and the symbolism imbued in tea ceremonies, embassies and I was included in several shows. Other individuals supported me too, including Peter Webb, who Solo shows are often the culmination of a long period Wearable Arts Award has also gained a high profile and in netsuke and in raku pottery. then had a gallery in High St, Auckland. He started buying of innovative, exhausting work. What‘s the point, if no one critical acclaim. It's time for a major awards show for all “They caught the spirit of life for me in a capsule. I had my work,which gave me money enough to continue. I’ve comes, there are few sales, and there are no reviews? craft media, and some contenders for this seem to be emerging. always found a lot of things easy to master. Because of had several agents and several patrons.” Public galleries like the Dowse fulfill a vital role in Exhibitions are a key tool in raising the profile and that, I tended to flit from one thing to another, without investigating areas of craft development with at least some viability of craft, but we must understand better how they feeling fulfilled by any of it. At the time, I was looking for In an effort to get his work bigger, 8-9 years ago Paul budget allocated to education and promotion. work and how best to capitalise on them. something to absorb me for the rest of my life.” started to turn bowls. At that time there was an abundance of wooden bowls, so he chose something difficult to do and For group shows to attract exhibitors, prize money is We need more exhibitions which are better researched Paul was then living in Wellington and belonged to the did it well. His bowls were unusual in that they were made increasingly necessary, and this serves as a focus for the and better planned. Its a time for the pooling of resources Japanese Embassy Library. “1 consumed it and realised that of hardwoods (puriri, maire, pohutukawa, rata), they were public as well. It's no longer enough for an organiser to and information so there are some clear objectives. here was a way I could say what I wanted to say. What the thick walled and they were inlaid. The inlays were palm— Japanese did and their philosophy behind doing it, eamed wood, ebony, patanga (an Indian wood). LEITERS WEARABLE ART my commitment.” Then Paul’s work grew from bowl sized to fumiture I was delighted to read your article in But not to their craft. Paul took the Japanese tech— sized. For ten years he has been married to Sally, a 0N AMY BROWN'S REVIEW the Autumn Craft New Zealand about niques and grafted them onto his European heritage. In a the Wearable Art Awards. | feel that successful illustrator who in earlier years had a studio in Dear Amy ‘ ' ‘toilet sized’ workspace with a jeweller’s lathe and a few these awards are so deserving of wider Wellington. While working for a firm called ‘Inscape', run i read with interest your review of the your culture has been violated to such an hand tools, he played with placing amber, horse bone, recognition..,as they do a wonderful job by Duncan Dempsey, she was wearing an inlaid bracelet traditional and contemporary Maori and extent. It is only out of a confidence and lignum vitae, paua and silver on tiny plaques that became encouraging and preserving wearable art. made by Paul. Dempsey noticed it and wanted the designer contemporary Pakehafibre artshow(Craft understanding of traditional skills/mate- coat pins, brooches and pendants.